Minister urged to press Jamaica over wage deductions of migrant workers in Canada
OTTAWA — The federal labour minister was advised to fire back at a Carribean country late last year ahead of a planned meeting to discuss changes to how much temporary foreign workers in Canada were expected to pay back to their home countries.
Up until 2016, an agreement between the governments of Canada and Caribbean countries allowed employers of migrant farm workers to withhold one-quarter of their wages and hand the money over to their home governments.
Most of the money, 20 per cent, was considered a forced savings plan, and the remaining five per cent was used to cover administrative costs.
The policy, however, violated employment laws in several provinces.